1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tractor drawn, wheeled device for gathering, hauling and handling hay bales. The device comprises a chassis bearing a vee shaped trough for carrying bales, and has a two jawed scoop for gathering the bales. The trough can be inclined on the chassis to dump the bales in a vertical stack.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Machinery for cutting and baling hay has become increasingly popular. However, these machines are being designed to form ever larger and heavier bales, and leave these bales on the field at the site of cutting and forming them. It is usually necessary to transport these bales to another location. The prior art has proposed machines for lifting, transporting, and depositing bales in new locations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,561, issued to Clarence C. Graves on Feb. 3, 1981, illustrates a hay bale handler which retrieves hay bales by scooping action as it is drawn by a tractor or the like. The device of Graves has two parallel rails forming a bed. These two rails are open or spread at the front of the bed, to guide bales onto the bed by funneling action. However, Graves lacks means for inclining the bed sufficiently to deposit plural hay bales in a vertical stack. Graves also lacks a backstop at the rear of the bed, so that bales can be stacked horizontally, in the manner of the present invention. The Graves device has integral fixed guides forming a funnel at the front of his bed rails. By contrast, the present invention provides pivotable mounting and powered opening or spreading of comparable guides formed at the front of the bed rails.
Backstops enabling a bale handler to deposit bales in vertical stacks are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,504, issued to Kenneth Klompien on Nov. 20, 1990. However, Klompien loads his device by a powered lift, rather than employing scooping action in the manner of the present invention. Klompien's powered lift lacks the powered, selectively opening scoop guides provided by the present invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.